Orally induced tolerance to casein in mice on normal mouse chow

We examined the ability of bovine casein to induce oral tolerance in BDF1 mice raised on a normal mouse chow diet. Giving 20 mg casein 1 × or 4 × by intragastric tube or for 28 days at 1 mg/ml in drinking water failed to have a significant effect (P > 0.2) on the subsequent immune response to parenteral casein, suggesting that casein was not an effective oral tolerogen. However, we discovered that most normal mouse chow contains casein. When BDF1 mice were raised on a casein-free diet, and treated as above, they showed marked suppression of subsequent responses to parenteral casein (P < 0.01). Our results indicated that mice on the normal diet were presuppressed by the dietary exposure. Examination of several other normal mouse chows revealed that they all contained casein as a protein source. A possible effect of prior exposure must be considered in all experimental animal studies involving immune responses to antigens which may be present in the environment.